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Mighty Ducks-Canucks Preview

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks hope to avoid ending their four-game road trip with a third straight loss when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.

The Ducks' trip got off to a good start on Monday with a 2-0 victory at San Jose, but they lost 6-5 in a shootout to Edmonton two nights later and fell 3-1 to Calgary on Wednesday.

Anaheim center Andy McDonald scored the lone goal against the Flames and said the Mighty Ducks weren't as sharp as they should have been.

"We've got to put this one behind us," McDonald said. "We've got one more game on the road against Vancouver. You can't stress the importance of these games. We need these points for getting into the playoffs."

McDonald has four goals and 11 assists during a nine-game point streak.

The Mighty Ducks take a 1-8-2 record against Northwest Division teams into this matchup.

Vancouver is two points behind first-place Calgary in the Northwest, but is coming off a home loss to the worst team in the Western Conference. The Canucks fell 4-2 to St. Louis on Wednesday.

"We didn't have great games from anybody in our lineup," Vancouver coach Marc Crawford said.

The Canucks are playing with three rookies on defense and without second-leading goal scorer Anson Carter up front.

Carter, who has 21 goals and 38 points this season, has a bruised foot and is listed as day-to-day. He hasn't played since Monday's 7-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets when he was hit on the foot by teammate Mattias Ohlund's slap shot.

Vancouver, which has split its last 10 games, is midway through a four-game homestand which ends Sunday against Minnesota in its final game before the Olympic break.